All Good Things
by Amanda Hawthorn
Summary: The sound of someone walking closer caused Michael to clutch his woman's hand tighter. His eyes met hers in an unspoken understanding that they would not leave this life quietly. Fiona nodded her head and reached for another gun, she too aiming it at the unknown intruder who had come to wreak havoc in what was left of their lives. Spoilers for season 7 finale


**Disclaimer: Burn Notice doesn't belong to me unfortunately.**

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who has reviewed my stories, favoured, followed and added me to their favourite author list. I am completely humbled by all of your kindness.**

**My husband's health has deteriorated over the last two months so I can't promise weekly updates, but I do promise to finish this story.**

**Huge thanks as always to my wonderful friends, Purdy's Pal, JediSkysinger and DaisyDay for bringing laughter to my life every day. Extra thanks to JediSkysinger for giving this a BETA and providing the southern drawl at the end of the chapter.**

_**The sound of someone walking closer caused Michael to clutch his woman's hand tighter. His eyes met hers in an unspoken understanding that they would not leave this life quietly. Fiona nodded her head and reached for another gun, she too aiming it at the unknown intruder who had come to wreak havoc in what was left of their lives.**_

All Good Things

1

Neither of them had had time to think about what had happened. They seemed to be living on the edge, propelling each other forward as well as drawing strength from one another. The time for grieving would impact their lives soon enough, but for now they had to survive the hell that had impacted their lives so severely.

Michael couldn't relax, even with Fiona lying beside him. Since their plummet into the watery depths that had provided their sanctuary as well as their escape, both of them had been running on pure adrenaline. Nothing could have prepared either of them for the rollercoaster that had become their lives of late, but as he turned his head to allow his gaze to drift over the woman beside him, Michael knew that he was finally where he wanted to be.

Fiona's hair was still wet, the strands sticking to her face. She was dishevelled, exhausted and devoid of any make up, but she was still the most beautiful woman he'd ever known.

Reaching out a shaky hand, he smoothed a clump of hair away from her cheek and watched in wonder when she turned to face him. The love in her eyes caused him to catch his breath and he couldn't help but gravitate towards her to place his lips against hers.

Fiona shivered slightly when he pulled her against him, causing all of the pain to disappear. They had been through so much, hurt each other on more than one occasion… but now it didn't matter anymore…

When their lips finally parted, Michael smiled down at her and smoothed his hand across her cheek before he moved it away just as quickly.

"We need to contact Sam and Jesse—"

"Michael," Fiona's soft voice cut through his words and he found his gaze drawn to hers once more. "Your mom…"

"I… know…" His own voice was strained when he thought of the woman who had raised him. Her words rang inside his head, but he tried not to let them topple his defences. He couldn't break apart, not yet.

She swallowed hard and reached across to clasp his hand. The two of them were nestled against the wall of the abandoned warehouse at their rally point in northern Palm Beach County. Glancing around at the bland walls, the Irish woman tried not to wallow in the grief that had slowly started to creep through her senses. Losing Madeline was like losing her family all over again and, no matter how many times she tried not to think of her surrogate mother, she couldn't keep the older woman's face out of her mind.

"What about Charlie?" Her voice shook a little as she spoke. "Did he—"

"She said he would be okay," Michael told her softly. "She said we would _both_ be okay."

Fiona pondered over his words and slowly nodded her head in acceptance. She had grown attached to the little boy in a way she never thought she would. She had never been the maternal kind of woman… but she loved that little boy.

"We need to find—"

Michael's words died on his lips when the sound of a car's engine disturbed their peaceful sanctuary and stopped outside. Climbing to his feet, Michael glanced at her quickly when she stood up with him and looked around for somewhere to duck out of sight, but he knew they didn't have time. Reaching out to Fiona, he grasped hold of her hand and yanked the gun off of one of the old work bench's before he stretched his arm outwards and pointed it towards the door.

The sound of someone walking closer caused Michael to clutch his woman's hand tighter. His eyes met hers in an unspoken understanding that they would not leave this life quietly. Fiona nodded her head and reached for another gun, she too aiming it at the unknown intruder who had come to wreak havoc in what was left of their lives.

When the door slowly opened to reveal Jesse, Fiona released the breath she had been holding and lowered her gun as soon as she saw her friend ushering a confused little boy through the door.

"Charlie," she gasped as she released Michael's hand and laid the gun back onto the bench before she surged towards them.

Charlie's wide eyes focused on her, her presence causing him to break out into a smile as he moved towards her

Michael lowered his gun and released a slow breath before he turned his attention onto the man who had become one of his closest friends.

"Jesse…"

"Mike," Jesse's eyes were sad and wet with unshed tears as he stepped forward to grasp his friend's hand. "We thought—"

"We did too."

Fiona swallowed hard and held her arms out to the little boy who moved towards her. She scooped him up and held him tight as a surge of sorrow almost caused her to release a low sob that she'd been fighting against for so long. Swallowing it back to deflect the welling emotion, she instead forced her feelings to flow into the little boy in her arms. This whole thing was a huge mess and she had no idea how they were going to get out of this, but she could take some comfort from the fact that Nate's son had emerged without so much as a scratch.

"Hey," she soothed as she pulled back to smooth Charlie's hair from his eyes. "Are you doing okay?"

The young boy nodded his head silently as he withdrew from her gaze only to sink forward and wrap his arms more tightly around her. Fiona in turn clasped him against her with a near desperate embrace as she planted kiss after kiss over his soft brown hair.

Michael's gaze dropped onto the woman he loved and was unprepared for the swell of sorrow that crept up around him. Lifting his eyes to his friend, he opened his mouth to ask if his mother's sacrifice had allowed Sam to escape when Jesse answered for him.

"Sam got out. He thought you were both dead. We both—"

"We almost didn't make it out," Michael told him, raw emotion seeping from his words. "And if we can't figure out a way to get out of here with Charlie, then we might as well have died in there."

Shaking his head, Jesse stepped forward and held up his hand to silence his friend before he gestured to the open heavy door.

"There's a car outside with a full tank of gas… supplies and clothes for all three of you in the trunk and fifty grand, passports, Visa's and fake ID's in the glove compartment. But you have to leave now…"

Fiona shifted Charlie so that he was rested against her hip and she held him securely as he tightened his arms around her neck.

"How did you know we'd be here?"

Jesse turned his attention towards her and offered her a knowing smile before he slowly lost the battle with his emotions.

"I know you… I knew if you guys made it, then you'd head to a rally point…" he told her brokenly. "And… I had a hunch…"

"Jess—"

Jesse took a step backwards when Michael stepped towards him and held up his hand to stop him. There was so much they needed to say to each other, but right at this moment neither of them could think of a single thing to say.

"Take care," Jesse told them, his voice straining through his lips as he reached the open door. "Get out of here as soon as you can."

"Jesse, wait—" Fiona implored their friend to stay for one more moment. But when he turned to face her, she could see that he was barely holding himself in check.

"You're all dead," Jesse told them, his voice breaking as he spoke. "Sam's heading to Strong now with the evidence and…"

"But he doesn't know we're alive?" Michael asked softly, his mind instantly focusing on the ex-Navy SEAL who had become his best friend. "He—"

"This is your chance to get out, Mike… take it and leave. It's what your mom wanted."

"Wait…" Fiona stepped forward and regarded her friend with a mixture of sadness and pride. "What about Charlie? Won't Ruth—"

"We both know if anyone knows that Charlie survived then he'll never be safe. So… he died…" Jesse swallowed hard as he tried desperately to blink the tears away from his eyes. "I'll tell them that…but… you have to get out. Leave Miami…"

"Jesse…" Fiona's voice broke when she spoke his name, her emotions spilling over into every syllable. "Thank you…"

Instead of replying, he just nodded silently and looked at all of them in turn as he tried to convey to them just how much he loved them. Before either of them could say another word, Jesse turned around and fled the warehouse, the tap of his feet echoing across the ground as he moved to leave nothing but emptiness behind him.

When silence once again flowed around them, Michael placed his hand atop of Charlie's head and held out his arms for the little boy, who clambered towards him. His eyes slipped closed when Charlie burrowed his face into his shoulder and he vowed to whoever was listening that he would keep this child safe.

A warm hand on his arm caused his eyes to snap open and he found himself gazing into the beautiful eyes of the woman he loved.

"We should go," she told him softly as she looked around for anything that would indicate that they had been here. "We need to find some place safe until we figure out where we're going from here."

She turned towards the door, but his hand stopped her from moving. Moving back around, she watched him questioningly as he squeezed her hand and nodded in agreement before he followed her towards the door, eager to leave their old life behind.

000

They had been driving for over ten hours, taking turns to take over the wheel, so the other one could rest. Charlie was asleep in the back seat, his tiny body exhausted from all of the upheaval of the last few days.

Fiona glanced across the seat at Michael, who was slumped against the passenger window with his eyes closed. So far neither of them had come up with any firm plan of where they were going. Everything had happened so fast that they hadn't had time to think. In his sleep, she could see the lines of worry on his face and the growth of facial hair that had already taken over half of his face. He looked tired and worn out, but she knew it wasn't only because of what they had been though over the last few days… This was years of torment that had finally, she hoped, come to an end.

It was dark outside now, something that filled Fiona with a certain sense of calm. They were nearing Lumberton in South Carolina and she wondered if they should find some place out of the way to stop and recharge for a few days before they decided where to go. They had only stopped three times, once for gas and twice for the rest room and food. Both of them had been mindful that they could still be on the CIA's wanted list, so Fiona had brought a temporary dark hair dye to try to disguise her features just in case anyone had seen the news bulletins.

When she drove into Lumberton, she thought that she would have felt some sense of relief, but she felt nothing but weary exhaustion. They couldn't keep on like this, not when they had a child to think of now. Looking at the passing street signs, Fiona looked out for any motels where they could possibly lay low for a couple of days. But to her dismay, she couldn't see any that were discreet or not lavishly expensive. With a heavy heart, she continued to drive for another hour until they drove into Raleigh, North Carolina, and it was then that she saw a very welcome sight.

Reaching across the seat she tapped Michael's thigh. His eyes flew open and he sat up abruptly, looking around him with a startled expression.

"Relax," she soothed as she nodded towards the building that had a luminous vacancy sign in the window. "I've found us somewhere to stay."

"Motel Six?" he asked when he read the sign that adorned the small hotel.

"Yeah, it's small… cheap…and we need a place to sleep."

"Okay," he nodded before he looked into the back seat to check on their charge, who was still sleeping. "He needs a real bed."

Fiona pulled the car to a stop in the parking lot and reached across to pull open the envelope that contained the cash that Jesse had placed there, along with a pair of reading glasses. Handing the envelope to him she unfolded the glasses and reached up to place them over his eyes before she sat back to take in his appearance. The glasses and his unshaven face helped to hide the real him. She was more confident now with sending him in to find a room with him looking so different; she could change her appearance in private tomorrow before anyone in the motel saw her.

"You check us in," she told him with a soft smile. "I'll wake Charlie."

Michael watched her for a long moment before he moved forward to press a soft kiss against her lips. When he pulled back, he offered her a weary smile and pushed open the car door.

Tucking some cash into his pocket, Michael took a deep breath as he moved towards the main entrance of the building, noting to himself that they would find out soon enough if their apparent death had been a success.

"Well, hey thar," the southern drawl of the young woman behind the counter greeted him along with a bright smile. "Mah name is Susan, how kin I help ya today?"

"Hey," he greeted, plastering a fake smile across his lips. "I was hoping you had a room for a couple of nights for three. My wife and son are out in the car."

"Well, ah'll certainly have a look fer ya," she told him cheerily, despite the lateness of the hour.

Glancing around the lobby, Michael turned back to look at the young woman who was busily tapping away on her computer and waited for her to speak when he caught sight of a framed sonogram photograph on the side of the desk. An idea formed in his mind and he pulled himself a little straighter when she turned to look at him.

"We're going to visit my wife's parents in Richmond," he lied. "We're going to surprise them."

"Really?" the blonde woman asked, her body language displaying her disinterest until she heard Michael's next words.

"Yeah, she's pregnant and we were going to fly out, but she's had a lot of morning sickness—"

Susan's head snapped up and her eyes softened in sympathy as her hands involuntary caressed her slightly swollen abdomen. "Me, too. That's why ah'm workin' the late shift; it don't seem so bad at night."

"My wife's too," he nodded. "We're hoping to have a room for a couple of nights, maybe three? I want her to get plenty of rest before we get on the road again."

Susan's smile blossomed and she reached behind her to pull a key from the wall and held it out to him. "Well, ain't ya a real sweetheart…"

"I love her," he shrugged, telling the truth for the first time since he'd walked through the foyer doors.

"You're in room seven," she told him cheerfully. "It's seventy five dollars a night, paid up front, darlin'."

Nodding in acceptance, Michael delved into his pocket and pulled out some bills and placed them on the counter, throwing her a dazzling smile when she picked up the cash. She blushed under his gaze and printed out his receipt before handing it to him with another wide smile.

"Enjoy yer stay with us," she told him. "If ya want to extend yer stay, we kin do that too. Ya just let me know."

"Thank you," he grinned as he took the key from her hand and turned away before he opened the doors and made his way out towards the car.

TBC


End file.
